Phil Godman kicked a last-minute drop-goal for Edinburgh to clinch victory over Racing Métro and keep them at the top of Pool 2 in the Heineken Cup.

In a delicately poised group Edinburgh grabbed their second victory on the road to keep the pressure on Cardiff Blues as they hunt for their first quarter-final spot in eight years. Blues travel to London Irish on Saturday and will now need a victory to stay in touch with the Scots at the top.

The back-row trio of Ross Rennie, Netani Talei and David Denton all crossed as the visitors led for the majority of the game.

But Racing responded with three tries of their own and looked set to share the spoils before Godman struck to clinch only a second victory for Edinburgh on French soil.

"We got lucky at the end, we held our composure and fell over the line with Phil's drop goal," said the Edinburgh coach, Michael Bradley.

"And credit to him, he's put in all the hard yards in training in the last six months to get back and come on and win a game like that.

"Racing really tore into us at the start of that period and we had to weather the storm, but we got there in the end. It was a really different game to that last match against them and it was tighter in a lot of areas.

"But we knew that the side that could hold onto the ball would get an opportunity in the last 10 minutes and that's what happened. The drop goal which perfect timing for us."

Edinburgh host London Irish in the Scottish capital next weekend, and Bradley admitted: "We do have the advantage as we are playing at home.

"I think our fans will be excited about it and the players will and should be excited as well. It could be a fantastic day next weekend, but we have to remember when you go across that line it's still just a game and we have to do the basics right and we didn't do them all right tonight."

Both sides battled for early dominance but neither could find their rhythm and Juan Martín Hernández and Greig Laidlaw even missed early shots at goal.

Sébastien Chabal's powerful early breaks provided some spark but the game really kicked into gear when Rennie crossed for the opening score.

Quick ball from the base from Mike Blair initiated things and Rennie was fed in midfield and barged through weak defence to run in under the posts for a converted score.

Tackling in the midfield was again questionable for Racing's opening try. Edinburgh had repelled their hosts' repeated efforts well until Fabrice Estebanez created a hole in midfield and offloaded to Francois Steyn, who dived over. Hernández had no problems with his second shot at goal, levelling the scores with the conversion.

But Racing then seemed to relax and, with Edinburgh in confident mood, it was always clear who was going to score next.

A quick attack down the blind side set up field position and Edinburgh bided their time before Talei broke through and stretched over the line to grab a second try for the Scots. The captain Laidlaw added the conversion to give his side a healthy advantage at the break.

With Cardiff not playing until Saturday this was an ideal opportunity for Edinburgh to lay down a marker after the break but their lead lasted two second-half minutes. Juan Imhoff made a mockery of the covering defence, outsprinting them down the blind side before rounding Chris Paterson with ease to level the score.

Rather than consolidate, Racing immediately started looking for their next score and switched off in defence, allowing Denton to sprint clear for the game's fifth try and make it a try apiece for the visiting back row.

It was then Racing's turn to respond and they did so with the game's sixth try as Antoine Battut touched down after an attack that always looked destined to end with a try. Hernández again levelled the scores, this time from the touchline before making way for Jonathan Wisniewski.

Wisniewski missed the chance to edge his side in front minutes after coming on, with a long-range kick drifting wide, but the fly-half had no problem as his second effort sailed over.

Laidlaw responded with three points for Edinburgh two minutes later and then Godman struck just before the final whistle, to give the Scottish side victory.